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Tag: bacon

This past weekend I made Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwiches for dinner. Cheryl had a craving for them and I was only too happy to oblige. I’m not big on tomatoes. I’ll eat them, but given the choice, I’ll pass. However; I was at M and M Farms here in Racine and Mike gave me three big tomatoes, right from the vine. (Full disclosure, I created Mike’s website: mandmfarms.biz.) Anyway, he explained to me the difference between vine ripened tomatoes and grocery store tomatoes. Grocery store tomatoes are picked while still green and shipped to a warehouse. Once there, they are gassed in order to “ripen” and gain their bright red color. The tomatoes at M and M Farms are not. They’re allowed to ripen on the vine.

While I listened to Mike’s explanation, I didn’t really get the difference. Ripe is ripe, right? And, tomatoes aren’t all that good anyway, so what difference does it make?

Well, after this weekend, I can honestly say that it makes a lot of difference. I can’t remember my mother ever shopping at a farmer’s market, so I’m sure I ate very few vine ripened tomatoes in my life. But, I can tell you this, I will be making every effort to only eat vine ripened tomatoes from now on.

If you like vine ripened tomatoes and you live near Racine, may I suggest M and M Farms on Braun Rd – west of Green Bay Road?

Have you seen this website: My Life As A Foodie? I just found it this weekend while surfing the web. If you like food and you like to cook, you need to check out this site. He breaks it all down in simple step by step instructions that even a child could follow. I am definitely going to try his chicken wing recipe and when I get back from my trip next week, I’m going to make some homemade bacon.